Homo Eximius
"It is not the strongest or the most intelligent that survive, but those most able to adapt." Eximius Humanis--more widely known as Extrahumans, Superhuman or Metahumans--are a sub-species of evolved humanoids originating from the planet Earth. As a whole, most members of this species look like standard humans in physical appearance. Their primary distinction as a species is increased longevity and the presence of superhuman powers that allow them to perform tasks beyond the capacity of homo sapiens. History Origin There is evidence of Homo Eximius dating back to before Christ. Nobody is certain exactly when or how they came to be, but there are some theories. Some believe they are a natural byproduct of humans forcing drastic evolution in order to cope with our drastically changing environment, while others believe they are the result of extraterrestrial genetic experimentation. Many believed what they did was magic for many, many years. Levels of Extrahumans have always been relatively low. It is believed by some that the stories of gods and heroes in mythology might be the result of extrahumans in that ancient time, as such beings would have been seen as gods by common men. As the years went on, and Christianity and Islam both began their spread, feelings and views of Extrahumans changed. A mass execution of extrahumans occurred in the eleventh century, in Constaninople. Since then, Extrahumans went into hiding in order to survive. In 1481, church leaders met and began to hunt Extrahumans (known then as Witchbreed) during the Spanish Inquisition. This literal witchhunt lasted until the Inquisition's disbanding, in 1834. It is believed many witch hunts were originally sparked due to extrahuman activity of some kind, though it is probable that not every victim was an extrahuman. In 1888, the Jack the Ripper murders shocked London. The man was caught, and the secret of his ability to evade capture was revealed: he could turn himself invisible. In addition, the head detective on the case, Frederick Abberline, was a telepath. The Queen determined that news of these powers should be kept a secret from the public and the Pinkerton Agency was founded in order to take down other rogue extrahumans. At the dawn of the 20th century, a rogue extrahuman calling himself the Wraith led an assault in America to reveal the presence of Extrahumans but he was defeated. In light of this event, the United States government declared extrahumans to remain a secret, in order to better utlize them in times of war...and also to keep tabs on them and to avoid public outcry. Extrahumans were utilized by both the Axis Powers and the Allies in World War II. They were used to great effect by the Nazi war machine in their Blitzkreig. The Allies put together their own force of extrahumans, as well. Many large-scale battles were fought between both groups, culminating in several demolished villages and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage. Likewise, extrahumans were used during the Cold War, by both sides. While no battles officially took place during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, many covert missions were underwent. Behind closed doors, it was known as the "War of the Supermen". They were also used by the United States in Vietnam. In 1987, the United States government declared a "No More Supermen" policy. They terminated contracts with all known extrahumans...as well as terminating as many of them as they could find. This crackdown came to be known as "Order 64". Since then, extrahumans remained in the dark until October of 2013, when the extrahuman known as "Guardian Angel" made her first public appearance, shedding light on the existence of extrahumans for the entire world. She was classified as a criminal immediately and capturing her was a high priority for the CIA for several months. Age of the Superhero With the emergence of Guardian Angel, more extrahumans came forward. The common trait was that all of them came forward wearing masks, under an alias. Many used their powers to fight crime. Many more used them to commit them. The first large-scale public act of supervillainy was the attack on Northampton, Washington by Doctor Joshua Wilder, who had started to go by the alias of Archnemesis. He was defeated by Guardian Angel. Across the world, battles began to rage between these self-styled "superheroes" and "supervillains". Billions of dollars in property damage were accrued in less than a year nationwide in the United States alone. December of 2013 led to the formation of the first super-group, known as the Extras. This group consisted of individuals calling themselves Guardian Angel, Jumper, Kinetic, Gangbanger, Invisible Man, and the Fall Guy. This led to an explosion of media coverage of extrahuman and extrahuman activity. Several more super-teams were formed in the ensuing months, including the Thunderbolts, the Watch Dogs and the Paladins. Additionally, the first Superhuman Prisons were instituted throughout the United States by Donovan Blackburn. Blackburn used the prisons to hold those who could not be held elsewhere. These prisons utlized technology that could nullify the powers of extrahumans, making them effectively human while in the prison's walls. Public Response Public response was initially positive toward the growing extrahuman phenomena. In the immediate months following Guardian Angel's appearance and the formation of the Extras, peddler's made more than $100 million on bootleg merchandise alone. Videos of the battles began to show up on the internet, reaching hits of several million in just hours. The video in which Guardian Angel revealed her presence achieved more than 1 billion hits within the first week alone, shattering Gangam Style's old record. It remains the most viewed video on Youtube to this day. However, with the second defeat of Archnemesis came the increase in super-crime. Millions in damages, theft and loss of life prompted an abrupt shift in attitude from public officials and a violent reaction from the public. Mexico instituted a "Kill on Sight" policy for any masked vigilantes or criminals. England began imprisoning their extrahumans for life, while other countries reacted even more violently. The WildCard case caused an even greater reaction as it was believed that the presence of "superheroes" like Guardian Angel only drew the attention of criminals: the heroes were not solving the problem, they were its cause. In the United States, several large-scale, very violent riots occured in several major cities including New York, Detroit, Houston, Chicago, Boston, Philidelphia, Seattle and Los Angeles. Many extrahumans--both criminals and heroes--were murdered in the events. This led to the establishment of "Sanctuary Camps", where extrahumans could be taken to hide and be kept safe from the public. However, these camps were really concentration and quarantine camps, where extrahumans were kept, drugged, studied and in some cases, murdered. The camps received a mixed response, with extremists on both the left and the right praising them and others claiming they were a violation of basic human rights. The Guardian Angel Act Donovan Blackburn was one of the loudest voices in protest of the camps. He claimed the prisons he had established were safe and secure. He also insisted that if super-powered criminals were too much for police to handle, perhaps extrahumans should police themselves. In June of 2014, Blackburn spearheaded the controversial policy known as the Guardian Angel Act. With the support of several key US Senators and Congressman, as well as the Extras themselves, Blackburn fought for months to give extrahumans the same basic rights as homo sapiens and to make superhero-vigilante activity legal in the United States. While it did not pass during its initial vote, things changed after the mass jailbreak of super criminals across the country thanks to the efforts of the Professor. During this time, hundreds of criminals were apprehended by the superheroes who had been outcast and hunted. Millions of lives were saved across America thanks to the brave efforts of the superhumans. Additionally, the Professor's team, Oblivion, was foiled in their attempt to attack the White House not by the Secret Service but by the Extras. Following the events of Oblivion's attempted coup, Blackburn managed to resurrect the Guardian Angel Act, where it once again went to vote. Thanks to overwhelming public support, the Guardian Angel Act was passed. This allowed the following provisions: *Superhero activity was legal but must be response only. No "looking for trouble". Additionally, vigilante activity would be tolerated only against superhuman criminals. *Superheroes were permitted in the United States but only if they did not kill. Physical Characteristics Extrahumans are a result of a rare genetic mutation in humans. This meta-gene is naturally occuring. Those born with the gene have no powers at birth and can live their whole lives without realizing what they are. The overwhelming number of Extrahumans appear human in every way. They possess the same basic musculature, internal workings and psychology of homo sapiens. While a few have the appearance of other creatures, with some looking completely alien in nature, the majority are human in appearance. The United States website indicates that there are around 70,993 documented, confirmed, living extrahumans in the United States alone (meaning about .02%, or 1 in 4,500 people possess the gene). Numbers tend to fluctuate with time. Their numbers tend to be higher around the change of a century and lower near the sixth or seventh decade of a century. It is widely thought that the emergence of extrahumans tends to rise every hundred years due to an astrological event known as "The Flux", which occurs within the same timeframe. It is unknown why this correlation seems to exist or what properties the Flux exhibits that imbue human beings with abilties. 'General Abilities' Extrahumans are all known to possess certain common traits beyond their unique superpowers. '--Enhanced Strength:' Most, if not all extrahumans possess a degree of strength above that of a normal human of their size and build. '--Durability: '''Extrahumans are far more resistant to physical injury than homo sapien, as they can withstand knife attacks, blows by vehicles and superstrength, impacts from long falls, severe burns and gunshot wounds that would kill a normal human. '--Enhanced Stamina:' Extrahumans tire slower than humans, but they cannot go indefinitely. '--Enhanced Healing Factor:' On average, Extrahumans heal faster than a normal person, and they very rarely develop scars. 'Superpowers' The primary trait that set extrahumans apart from homo sapiens are their capacity for superpowers. Extrahumans possess a brain anomaly that has imbued them with some kind of superhuman ability, allowing them to perform tasks that are beyond the capability of homo sapien. Their bodies tend to evolve to allow them to perform their ability without killing themselves. For example, an extrahuman with the ability to run at supersonic speed will have developed the physicality to protect them while moving at such high speeds, or those with electrokinesis having a reistance to electricity. These powers often are accompanied by difficulties in social psychology, as an Extrahuman's perspective is skewed by their abilities. This makes relating to humans difficult at times. For some, this can mean inclusion somewhere in the Autism Spectrum. For others, this can mean a short temper, schizophrenia and other mental or social disorders. It seems the rapid evolution and adaptation that occurs to the human body when it gains a power often triggers a negative psychological reaction. This goes a long way to explaining the tendency many extrahumans have toward becoming criminals. It is impossible to determine the power any specific individual will exhibit as an extrahuman. There seem to be thousands of variables that determine an Extrahuman's power. It seems to be based primarily on biology and genetic makeup, although mental factors are sometimes thought to play a role. Most extrahuman possess a single ability, which often evolve and take on different aspects. For example, Guardian Angel possesses Zeta Beam Manipulation. This power allows her to fly, discharge zeta energy from her hands in the form of concussive blasts, as well as enhanced strength, speed and stamina. 'Secondary and Tertiary Mutations' While rare, this phenomenon entails heightened mutation on the part of the extrahuman. This often involves the emergence of an additional power that is different from their original power, or an ability that functions from a different source. For example, Gangbanger has developed a secondary mutation that allows him to shift the color of his irises at will, but it does not seem to be connected to his original power of Enhanced Musculature in any way. Even rarer is the development of a tertiary mutation, which is a third mutation or fourth mutation (and so on). In some rare cases, the development of a secondary or teriary mutation comes in the form of a dramatic physical mutation, such as an alteration in skin color or texture, the growth of horns, wings, claws, a tail or some other major physical alteration. 'List of Known Powers' The following is a list of all known superhuman powers that have been displayed in the Extras campaign: *'Acid Generation:' The ability to excrete highly corrosive acid from one's pours or mucus membrane. *'Adomopathy:' The ability to copy any movement or skill from observation. *'Animal Communication:' The ability to empathetically or telepathically communicate with animals. *'Animal Mimicry:' The ability to copy the attribute of an animal. *'Bio-Chemical Movement:' The ability to generate a bio-chemical explosion that propels the user with great force, like a cannonball. *'Biokinesis:' The ability to affect the body chemistry of another creature, enabling the user to exponentially accelerate the body's natural healing process, negate illnesses or poisons, increase the body's performance or sensory capacity, or even help repair cognitive and mental damage. *'Concussive Blasts:' The ability to generate blasts of concussive energy, usually in the form of harmless (but painful) radiation or hard light. *'Cryokinesis:' The ability to lower temperatures in an area, generating ice. *'Duplication: The ability to create a temporary genetic duplicate of oneself. *'''Eidetic Artistic Replication: The ability to reconstruct any piece of art, with perfect accuracy, which the user has studied. *'Electrokinesis: '''The ability to generate electrical pulses capable of shutting down electrical devices within a certain radius. *'Elemental Mimicry:' The ability to alter one's own body structure to match the elemental make-up of whatever substance the user is touching. *'Elongation:' The body gains increased plasticity, affecting even internal organs, blood veins and bones. This ability allows the user to stretch their body like a rubber band. *'Emotional Contagion:' The ability to influence the emotions of others. *'Empathetic Gaydar:' The ability to determine a person's sexual orientation with 100% accuracy. *'Flight:' The ability to affect one's personal field of gravity and propel through the air by force of will. *'Florapath:' The ability to control plant life. *'Force Fields:' The ability to create sheets of force energy most commonly used for defense. *'''Friction Control: The ability to increase or decrease friction in an area. *'Heat Vision:' The user's eyes are covered in a special film that, by focusing and refocusing, allows them to reflect infared light from their eyes, generating a beam of searing light much like a laser. *'Hydrokinesis:' The ability to affect mental control over water molecules, allowing the user to control bodies of water. *'Hyper Adrenal:' Utilize fight or flight response at wil to gain heightened physical attributes. *'Hyper Intelligence:' Increased cognititve function, bestowing superhuman intellect on the user. *'Illusions:' The ability to trick the target's brain into experiencing whatever you want them to, making them see and hear things that aren't there. *'Increased Mental Functioning:' Heightened brain activity that makes an individual more observant, efficient and better able to retain and interperate information. *'Invisibility:' Can bend the light around them to make them disappear. *'Invulnerability:' Super-dense muscle mass that bestows superhuman durability and stamina on an individual. *'Iris Shifting:' The ability to change the color of your irises at will. *'Kinetic Charging:' By generating an extreme amount of friction that charges an object's inherent kinetic energy, which violently and explosively releases upon impact. *'Magnetism:' The ability to manipulate the magnetic field of an object, thereby allowing the user to control any metallic objects nearby. *'Mediumship:' The ability to sense and communicate with the dead. *'Mental Dominatiom:' The ability to control the actions and wills of other people. *'Microscopic Vision:' The ability to focus one's eyes like a microscope, enabling the user to see on the molecular level. *'Molecular Phasing:' The ability to vibrate one's molecules so fast that they can pass through solid objects. *'Ooze:' A body chemistry made of organic clay. *'''Pheromone Contr'ol:' Can manipulate pheromones to control other people's minds or to induce an emotion. *'Photon Control:' The ability to enhance or decrease the power of photons in an area, thereby allowing the user to manipulate forms of hard light or even darkness itself. *'Portal Creation:' The ability to create an inter-dimensional doorway between any two points. *'Power Absorption:' The ability to alter one's own genetic code and take on multiple powers. *'Power Transferral:' The ability to take powers from people and also to give them to others. *'Power Replication:' The ability to create objects that mimic superhuman powers. *'Prestidigitation:' The ability to perform minor tricks and exert only a modicum of influence on one's surroundings. *'Probability Control:' The ability perceive all possible outcomes and generate the desired course of action. *'Probability Manipulation:' The ability to exert influence over small events, like a coint toss. *'Pyrokinesis:' Produce binary chemicals which react at different points of excretion on the body to produce a violent thermal reaction capable of starting intense conflagrations. *'Regeneration:' The ability to heal damaged tissue almost immediately. *'Resurrection:' The ability to heal and return to life if killed. *'Sensory Shielding:' The ability to hide oneself from some sense other than sight. *'Shapechanging:' Those with the morphogene ability can alter their physical appearance and voice. *'Sonic Control:' The ability to generate ultrasonic vibrations, usually from their hands or in the form of a scream. *'Space-Time Manipulation:' The abity to alter the space-time continum by slowing down, reverse or stopping time; folding time, enabling the user to temporarily travel through time and limited teleportation by folding space. *'Spectral Vision:' The ability to view the entire light and magnetic spectrum. *'Superhuman Agility:' The possession of reflexes, equilibrium and coordination of an impossibly superhuman level. *'Superhuman Breath:' The ability to take in an abnormal amount of air and expel it with incredible force, creating a limited-scope wind tunnel. *'Superhuman Senses:' The ability to control the sensory processing in the brain. A typical use of the ability is to refocus mental resources from other senses into one. The one focused sense is enhanced to an extremelu superhuman degree, but the other senses are temporarily blinded. *'Superhuman Speed:' The ability to run faster than other extrahumans, moving faster than the human eye can perceive. *'Superhuman Strength:' Superhuman levels of physical strength, enough to lift vehicles and break down brick walls with one's bare hands. *'Superhuman Swimming:' The ability to swim at superhuman speeds and at great depths. *'Superhuman Typing:' The ability to type on a keyboard with superhuman speed and precision. Those with this ability can type at over 250 words in five seconds. *'Tactile Graffiti:' The ability to create psionic imprints on a surface by touching it. *'Technopath:' Those with extraordinary understanding and telepathic communication with machines. *'Terrakinesis:' The ability to send shockwaves into the earth, enabling the user to control stone, dirt and earth in their immediate vicinity. *'Telekinesis:' The ability to affect objects from a distance using only one's mind. *'Telepathy:' The ability to determine and influence the thoughts of others. *'Teleportation: The ability to fold space and move from one location to another, instantly. *'''Telescopic Vision: The ability to focus one's eyes like a telescope, allowing the user to see out to great distances, like a zoom lens of a camera. *'Wall-Crawling:' The ability to adhere to walls and other surfaces like a spider. *'Weather Manipulation:' The influence of atmospheric conditions in an area, generating a micro-climate of whatever conditions the user desires. *'X-Ray Vision:' The ability to visualize the x-ray spectrum, betsowing the ability to see through solid objects (except for lead). *'Zeta Manipulation:' The ability to process, utilize and discharge zeta energy. 'Weaknesses ' All extrahumans possess a weakness to the rare mineral known as Axiomite. This mineral gives off a faint radiation that is harmless to humans but somehow negates the portion of the brain that controls the extrahuman's powers. Exposure to axiomite effectively "turns off" their powers for approximately 24 hours. Prolonged exposure can lead to severe cases of vertigo and nausea. Extrahumans can also be affected by various serums and technological means of power nullification that work in the same way, but function only as long as the extrahuman is within its range of effectiveness and/or as long as the method of power nullification remains in their system, which usually lasts no more than one hour. This technology is manufactured exclusively by Donovan Blackburn. 'Breeding' Children of the Homo Eximius species most often have abilities, though this differs depending on the parentage. If both parents of an extrahuman child are extrahumans themselves, then there is a huge chance that the child will themselves have abilities. Considering how close their genetics are to their parents, the resulting power is often similar to one of their parent's abilities. Sometimes they have the exact same power as their parent. However, seeing as powers can vary to an extreme degree based on currently unknown variables, it is not uncommon for children to have radically different powers altogether from their parents. So, if the parent of a child has superhuman speed while the other has telekinesis, it is not out of the question for the child to develop either power, or even something like pyrokinesis or flight. It all depends on genetics. Siblings rarely have the same power. Neither of these results are common when crossbreeding between Homor Eximius and Homo Sapiens. Familial power similarities are not exactly passed from parent to child. While the two species can breed, fertilization is difficult and often results in unsuccessful pregnancies; only one in six of these children survive to full term. This is the primary explanation for the relative lack of extrahumans after a few generations until each Flux. However, it should be noted that all children of even one extrahuman parent are extrahuman, even if they do not themselves have powers, as they posses the latent meta-gene; the gene is always passed on and even if not active, it is still present. It is not unheard of for powers to skip one or even two-three generations. It is only in extreme cases when the child of a human/extrahuman coupling is born with no metagene. 'Transmission of the Meta-Gene' The localisation of the meta-gene is set on the 23rd chromosome, which appears to be the sexual chromosomes, gonosomes. The meta-gene is on the X chromosome, and is carried by both males and females. This has led some circles to refer to it as the "X-Gene", though this is significantly less common. 'Habitat' Homo Eximius are native to the planet Earth of the Sol system. They are capable of surviving and thriving in any environment a human can, and also some that are so harsh that other humans cannot. This, of course, is highly dependent upon the individual mutation. Additionally, some mutations enable survival on completely alien worlds. 'Diet' Extrahumans are able to eat everything humans eat, with just as varied a pallette. In some cases (again, depending on the mutation) certain extrahumans can eat metals, stone, magma or even undergo photosynthesis in order to gain sustenance. Classification When dealing with extrahumans, it is always a good idea to understand how each is classified. The basic classifications are listed below. 'Prime Extrahumans' A Prime Extrahuman is one born with the gene and awakens naturally, though the power will not activate unless some kind of stress or pressure is on the extrahuman in question, or if they are experiencing powerful emotions. This type tends to be extremely rare early in the century. 'Awakened Extrahumans' Through an external source, a human being is exposed to an intense source of theoretical particles, with electricity working as a cataylist (usually, but not always, a lightning bolt). These events tend to occur during Storms that naturally occur during The Flux. 'Artificial Extrahumans' On several occasions, people have tried to mimic or reproduce extrahuman abilities. Some governments have even gone so far as to create their own extrahumans from human materials, in attempt to genetically create an artificial extrahuman. Such attempts typically end in failure or termination of the subject. Most such subjects tend to be malformed or psychologically unbalanced, generally citing lack of empathy and/or violent tendencies. 'Power Manipulation' There have been some instances in which extrahumans have lost their powers altogether, usually through strange external means, though most often through an individual with Power Transferral. Others have been given powers through similar means, or have had their powers reinstated. 'De-Powered Extrahumans' Most de-powered extrahumans are the result of Power Transferral, though some other conditions can remove a power. A psychological block (such as undergoing some sort of trauma or through telepathic influence), a lobotomy or artificial power loss, such as through a permanent power inhibitor chip implanted at the base of the skull. Some effects, such as Power Nullifying technology, are temporary. When power nullification is in effect, it supressess the meta-gene. When power transferral is in effect, the meta-gene is masked entirely. Despite effectively becoming "standard" humans, some depowered extrahumans consider themselves cultural metas, despite not having powers. The depowered extrahumans tend to be unaffiliated with any radical groups or super teams, but some band together to form other groups or stick with their former groups for safety or out of familiarity. There are some implications that de-powered extrahumans can still produce extrahuman offspring. Depowered extrahumans are generally divided into two categories: *'Pans:' Stands for P'ass '''A's 'N'ormal. These are former extrahumans who now appear completely human. Examples include Morty Cassidy (formerly), Clay Palcowski (formerly) and Elaine Tracker (formerly). *'''Rems: Stands for Remnants. These are former extrahumans left with some artifact of their former powers, such as horns, bone crests, wings or odd tentacles. An example included King of the Jungle, before he was permanantly given powers shortly before his death. Re-Powered Extrahumans Some former extrahumans have been repowered by various processes. This overwhelmingly only occurs through means of Power Transferral. There are other ways, however. Some rare cases exist in which an extrahuman lost their power, only to have it re-emerge during a traumatic incident. Such individuals tend to spawn the same power as before, though some extremely rare exceptions exist. Notes *"Homo Eximius" means "Extraordinary Human". *The term "Extrahuman" is used in the campaign to describe the Extras. *Strangely enough, in game, the team is called "The Extras" because Margot was referred to as an "extrahuman", thus creating a strange paradoxical loop of titles. Trivia *The term "extrahuman" was first used in Team (S01E02) and was used to describe Margot Audley. *While Doctor Wilder said that Margot was "the first documented member of Homo Eximius", he was wrong. Extrahumans had been documented for years in secret by various government organizations. She was the first publicly documented case in almost 500 years, however. Category:Species Category:Powered